Through the story of the ring, Republic considers whether an intelligent person would be moral if he did not have to fear being caught and punished for doing injustice. (Wikipedia)

It is connected to the concepts of Panopticon and Anopticon: Gyges’ ring is a symbol of the controlling eye constantly wide open in our heads: we are surveilled surveillors in an entangled game.

Since this ring is a precious thing, I decided to make it in a precious material: hemp bioplastic, a sort of future gold.

///

Now and Here is a project conceived, organized and realized by Ex-New in collaboration with Umberto Cavenago.

Now and Here starts as an open dialogue between guest artists, designers and experts of Digital Fabrication (3D modeling, laser cutting, CNC) of Make in Progress Makerspace, Umberto Cavenago in the role of “mediator” and the whole team of Ex-New.

Now and here aims to establish from the beginning a privileged channel of communication between artists who are urged to collaborate and share their projects in an almost utopian way for our time. The ex-Filanda makerspace acts as a catalyst of resources for individual projects, which are created thanks to the contamination among artists who carry ideas, take shape with the support of 3D modeling experts on site, and become a finished product with the use of digital fabbrication (3D printers, laser cutting, CNC). In each phase of the project, the active involvement of a selected group of high school students is planned for a continuous and fruitful exchange of stimuli and knowledge for the benefit of the collective. Now and here is born as an open model of research, like doing in becoming.

Clear production constraints have been imposed on all the actors involved: time and limited size (each work must be contained in a cube of 25 cm); mandatory use of experimental materials with low environmental impact (bioplastics based on hemp); exclusive use of the digital manufacturing machines in the Makerspace.